Custom Hot Rods - 'Readers' Pages

Hemi ChallengerWho: Thomas BushWhat: '70 Dodge ChallengerWhere: Mauston, WIWhy: Dude, if you can't see the beef dripping off this car, you need to take off the beer goggles. Check out the 596-inch aluminum Hemi with a NOS Pro Fogger (our favorite), plugged into a Tremec five-speed and a Dana 60 with 4.10:1 gears. This guy also equipped the E-Body with an Air Ride suspension system to lower the car over a set of polished Minilite wheels. There is a huge list of parts you can't see, like the 4-inch stainless steel exhaust system, Aero mufflers, and power everything in the interior. It even has heated/cooled Recaro seats, a DVD player, and a backup camera.He Says: "It's not finished yet, but it's scary so far."We Say: No back window. Couldn't wait to drive it, huh?

Before And AfterWho: Brendan StuartWhat: '69 Ford Mustang coupeWhere: Mexico, MOWhy: What's cool is seeing good ol' Stu grow up building a '69 Mustang. And the wheels and paint are nice, too. It has a 302 and a C4 automatic for those of you who are wondering. We're guessing it has an 8-inch rearend with an open differential for maximum burnouts.He Says: "It's my chick magnet."We Say: They grow up so fast, sniff. . . .

I Had One Of ThoseWho: Davis and Paul CarrollWhat: '65 Ford MustangWhere: Foxboro, MAWhy: This was originally a California car with a 289-inch mill. Now it has a 351 Windsor with a Hurst-shifted C4 automatic. Davis and Paul have done some of the mandatory suspension, cooling, and brake work and made sure the heater works for the lovely New England weather.We Say: Needs a five-speed. Do it.

Not So Cheap StreetWho: John B. SmithWhat: '68 Chevy ChevelleWhere: Boalsburg, PAWhy: We think this guy bought at least one part from every advertiser in the magazine. The result is this dope Chevelle with eye-popping orange paint and a World Products 540hp 509-inch Rat. It also has a Keisler five-speed swap with a McLeod Street Twin clutch, a 12-bolt Moser rearend, and every other cool part in between.We Say: We're kind of jealous.

The Last $1,000 ChevelleWho: Kirt StarWhat: '70 Chevy ChevelleWhere: New Berlin, WIWhy: Kirt bought this car in 1986 for only $1,000. A couple of years later he got his hands on a rust-free shell and got to work. The frame-off resto was completed in 1996 and included a 402-inch big-block and a stupid flat-tappet mechanical cam with 256/266 degrees of advertised duration and 0.580/0.605-inch lift. With a 100-shot of nitrous, it runs 11.61 at 116 mph.

18-Year-OldWho: Kenneth TylerWhat: '78 Pontiac Trans AmWhere: Lapeer, MIWhy: Ken says he's had this car for the last 18 years. It has a 400-inch engine with the addition of a 750-cfm Holley vacuum secondary carburetor. It also has a limited slip and a 3.42:1 gear.He Says: "No shots about my '80s sunvisor."We Say: OK. Are those fuzzy dice?

Slots!Who: Brett PerkinsWhat: '72 Pontiac LeMansWhere: Hastings, NEWhy: We didn't know there were parts available for these cars. We also didn't know anyone was restoring these cars until Brett sent us this photo. It took him and his father two years of Saturdays to finish it. That's a Pontiac tach on the hood and an Oldsmobile rear spoiler on the trunk. The color is DuPont Commercial Yellow. It's powered by a Pontiac 350.

Check Your FuelIn the Dec. '07 issue on page 51 ("How to Design a Fuel System") you have a formula for gallons/hour that seems wrong (I went back and forth between it and several other calculations, since I had not seen the formula before this article). I think the formula given does not need the factor of 2 at the beginning; just HP times BSFC divided by 6 equals GPH. Otherwise, thanks for a good article. I'm building a '66 Chevelle with a 454 bored and stroked to 489, topped by an 8-71 blower and twin 750s. Maybe 900 to 1,000 hp! -Gersh Lundberg, Paducah, KY

What we didn't explain very well is that the multiple of 2 in the equation (2 (flywheel hp x 0.5 BSFC/6 = GPH) adds enough pump to compensate for friction in the lines, g-forces, low system voltage, and whatever else might conspire to starve the system for fuel. The industry uses it as a safety measure.

Ma'sBestWho: Paul M. PitcherWhat: '66 Dodge Dart 270 wagonWhere: Parkesburg, PAWhy: It's a wagon that has a 360-inch Magnum crate engine installed with an A500 automatic and a 3.55:1 gear in the 831/44-inch rearend. It's kind of a cool street machine that gets driven everywhere by Paul.He Says: "I haven't found the top speed. Maybe I need to move to Texas or Bonneville."

JY CrawlWho: Dave KozlikWhat: '74 Ford MaverickWhere: Wetumpka, ALWhy: This is a mostly original car with a six-cylinder mill. When the engine dies it will be swapped with a 351, but it just won't let go. It's been driven to Michigan from Alabama three times with no problems. Let's see your Prius do that 33 years from now.We Say: Can you get a 514 in there?

20/23

Fun PoliceMy daughter Brianna and I have just finished up a successful brake conversion using a SSBC kit. We went from manual drum brakes to power disc up front on her '70 Barracuda. I brought a picture of Brianna to work showing her bolting up the power-booster brackets. One of the doctors I work with, who is a die-hard Porsche guy and owns a Prius, took a look at the picture. His comment? "David, you're the whole reason they created the homeowners association." Hey, what's that supposed to mean? -Dave Zink, Orange, California

Big CoupeWho: Peter G. OpalenikWhat: '69 Chevy ImpalaWhere: Smithton, PAWhy: Big-block Impalas are cool in any year. This one has a 427 with a TH400 trans and only 16,000 miles on it.

Fur DurWho: Anthony CarusoWhat: '67 Chevy ChevelleWhere: Southampton, NYWhy: This car started out as a six-cylinder farm car and turned into a V-8-powered cruiser. The running gear is the standard 383 with a 700-R4 swap and a Moser 12-bolt rear. How often do you see a four-door Chevelle at the track? Anthony and his family plan to run it with a NOS wet system down the quarter-mile.

23/23

Cross-RamRegarding the CC Quickie on page 113 of the Dec. '07 issue, you asked when was the last I saw an M/T cross-ram aluminum manifold? Well, I see one all the time-under the hood of my Monte Carlo. Believe it or not, it has crisp throttle response and gobs of torque. It really has people's heads scratchin' at shows and cruise nights. -Cory Hanscom, Upper Midwest